The European Commission has today published its proposal for a Digital Services Act, aimed at regulating gatekeeper tech platforms.
If implemented, the law will impose a range of obligations on “gatekeepers”. For example, the proposal includes the imposition of rules requiring online platforms to ensure that hate speech and other illegal content does not appear on their platforms.
All gatekeepers will also be required to inform the European Commission of any mergers or acquisitions it intends to embark upon involving other digital companies, even where the turnover thresholds for merger review are not met.
The obligations are set to be backed by a range of enforcement powers, ranging from information-gathering powers to imposing interim measures to imposing considerable fines for non-compliance (up to 10% of global turnover).
Moreover, the proposal includes a power for the Commission to step in and take enforcement action where national regulators are failing to act.
The proposal can be found here.
Please contact Tim Cowen with questions.
Contributing Advisors
